Average household income UK: £39,200 and how it is split

What the latest figures show

Median household disposable income in the UK was 39,200 pounds in the financial year ending 2025, an increase of 3.5 percent on the financial year ending 2024. The financial year ending 2025 covers April 2024 to March 2025. The poorest fifth of the population had a median household disposable income of 18,300 pounds, up 5.6 percent on the year, bringing it back in line with pre-pandemic levels of the financial year ending 2020. The richest fifth had a median of 77,000 pounds, up 5.0 percent, returning to financial year ending 2021 levels after two years of decline. The Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 32.7 percent, which the ONS describes as relatively stable.

These figures are equivalised and presented in 2024/25 prices, meaning they are adjusted for inflation to allow comparison over time. The source is the ONS Household Finances Survey, which covered approximately 8,000 private households in the UK for the financial year ending 2025. The survey is a sample of the private household population and does not include people in institutionalised households such as care homes and hostels, or people who are homeless. These are accredited official statistics, independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation.

Why these numbers look different from a salary

If you compare the headline figure of 39,200 pounds to your own salary, you may find it does not match your experience. That is because these are equivalised figures, not actual household cash incomes. Equivalisation adjusts household income for the number of people in a household and their ages, using the modified OECD equivalisation scale. The purpose is to account for the fact that a larger household needs more income to reach the same standard of living as a smaller one. For example, a couple with two children would need a higher total income than a single person to enjoy the same material standard of living. Equivalisation makes these different household types comparable on a like-for-like basis.

Disposable income is the money households have available for spending and saving after direct taxes such as Income Tax, National Insurance and Council Tax. It includes earnings from employment, private pensions and investments, and cash benefits from the state. So the figure is not a salary, and it is not the actual cash income a household receives. It is a comparison figure that allows you to see how the income of different household types and different parts of the population compare. When you see a median of 39,200 pounds, that is the equivalised disposable income of the median household, not the amount that household actually has in its bank account each year.

The spread across the population

When households are ranked by income and divided into five equal groups, or quintiles, the spread across the population becomes clear. The table below shows median equivalised disposable income by quintile for 2024/25. The bottom fifth had a median of 18,328 pounds, the second fifth 29,121 pounds, the third fifth 39,144 pounds, the fourth fifth 52,456 pounds, and the top fifth 76,998 pounds. The median for all individuals was 39,159 pounds. These figures are in 2024/25 prices and are equivalised.

The bottom fifth saw its median income rise by 5.6 percent on the year, while the top fifth rose by 5.0 percent. The bottom fifth has returned to its pre-pandemic level of the financial year ending 2020. The top fifth has returned to financial year ending 2021 levels after two years of decline. These changes are based on the ONS Household Finances Survey and are subject to sampling variability. The ONS notes that more granular income estimates, including decile-level and retired households, are subject to greater uncertainty and should be interpreted with caution.

Income by age

Median equivalised disposable income varies by age. The table below shows the median for each age band in 2024/25. The highest median is for the 25 to 34 age group at 46,969 pounds, which is higher than the 45 to 54 band at 44,202 pounds and the 35 to 44 band at 42,542 pounds. The lowest medians are for the youngest and oldest age groups: 0 to 17 at 34,119 pounds, 75 to 84 at 33,286 pounds, and 85 and over at 33,287 pounds.

This pattern may seem surprising: the highest median is in the 25 to 34 band, not in midlife. The reason is that this is an equivalised measure. People in their late twenties and early thirties often live in smaller households, frequently without children, so their household income is divided by a smaller equivalisation factor. That means they can have a higher equivalised income per person even if their total household income is lower than that of a larger family in midlife. It does not mean that people in their late twenties out-earn people in their fifties. It reflects differences in household composition and the equivalisation process.

How inequality is measured

The ONS publishes several measures of income inequality. The table below compares the main measures for 2024/25 and 2023/24. The Gini coefficient was 32.7 percent in 2024/25, down from 32.9 percent in 2023/24. The S80/S20 ratio was 5.6 in both years. The P90/P10 ratio was 4.2 in both years. The Palma ratio was 1.3 in both years. The top 1 percent share was 6.2 percent in 2024/25, down from 6.6 percent in 2023/24. The ONS describes inequality as relatively stable between the two years.

Each measure captures a different aspect of the income distribution. The Gini coefficient runs from 0, which represents complete equality, to 100, which represents complete inequality. The S80/S20 ratio compares the mean income of the top fifth of the population with the mean income of the bottom fifth. The P90/P10 ratio compares the income at the 90th percentile with the income at the 10th percentile. The Palma ratio compares the income share of the top 10 percent with the income share of the bottom 40 percent. The top 1 percent share is the proportion of total income received by the richest 1 percent of individuals. These measures are calculated from the ONS Household Finances Survey and are subject to the same caveats as the income estimates.

What to be careful with

Several caveats affect how far these figures can be pushed. The Household Finances Survey achieved sample size decreased by 29 percent from 11,300 households to 8,000 households between the financial year ending 2024 and the financial year ending 2025, following the cessation of the Survey on Living Conditions. The ONS says more granular income estimates including decile-level and retired households are subject to greater uncertainty and should be interpreted with caution. The survey is a sample of the private household population and does not include people in institutionalised households such as care homes and hostels, or people who are homeless, so the poorest are under-represented.

Cost of Living Payments were available in the financial years ending 2023 and 2024 but were discontinued, so households received no such payments in the financial year ending 2025. This affects year-on-year comparison at the lower end of the income distribution. From the financial year ending 2026 the Household Finances Survey will be comprised of Living Costs and Food Survey data only, with the issued sample increased to 30,000 households from April 2026. The UK has two main official sources of household income statistics: the Family Resources Survey run by DWP, which underpins the Households Below Average Income series, and the Household Finances Survey run by the ONS. These are separate measures with different samples and methods, so their figures differ. These are accredited official statistics, independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation.

Source: ONS: average household income, financial year ending 2025.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the median household disposable income in the UK?

Median household disposable income in the UK was 39,200 pounds in the financial year ending 2025, which covers April 2024 to March 2025. This is an increase of 3.5 percent on the financial year ending 2024. The figure is equivalised and presented in 2024/25 prices.

Why is the median household income different from my salary?

The figures are equivalised, meaning they are adjusted for the number of people in a household and their ages using the modified OECD equivalisation scale. This allows like-for-like comparison between different household types. The figure is not a salary and not a household's actual cash income. It is a comparison figure that accounts for household size and composition.

What is disposable income?

Disposable income is the money households have available for spending and saving after direct taxes such as Income Tax, National Insurance and Council Tax. It includes earnings from employment, private pensions and investments, and cash benefits from the state.

How much do the poorest and richest fifths have?

The poorest fifth of the population had a median household disposable income of 18,300 pounds in the financial year ending 2025, up 5.6 percent on the year. The richest fifth had a median of 77,000 pounds, up 5.0 percent. These are equivalised figures.

What is the Gini coefficient?

The Gini coefficient is a measure of income inequality that runs from 0, representing complete equality, to 100, representing complete inequality. In the financial year ending 2025 it was 32.7 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from 32.9 percent in the financial year ending 2024. The ONS describes inequality as relatively stable between the two years.